U.S. Asians

“Building Bridges to Equality” (Jan. 7) suggests that Americans of Asian ancestry are an oppressed minority with grievances in urgent need of legal redress. This is an absurd exaggeration and a disservice to Californians generally. Three specifics:

Bigots and ignoramuses may regard Asian Americans as “either invisible, or forever foreigners or honorary whites, or problems,” but I think the rest of us take a very different view. We believe Asian Americans’ respect for education, hard work and law-abiding, tax-paying civility warrant the highest esteem.

Lack of economic opportunity for Asian Americans simply can’t be made an issue. Maybe there’s a shortage of Asian American cops but there’s certainly no lack of dentists. The South Bay phone book lists some 490 dentists, of whom at least 72--or more than 18%--have Asian surnames. Certified public accountants, electrical engineering faculties, and other professional jobs would probably show comparable representation.

This article is really about constructing grievances and then suing people over them. The trendy jargon about bridge-building, vision, and relevance is window dressing.

JOHN F. G. LEIGHTON

Redondo Beach